An Inconvenient Truth

"From director Davis Guggenheim, An Inconvenient Truth is a passionate and inspirational look at former Vice President Al Gore's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it." (take from the films website, found here) 

The film is an inside look at the power-point presentation Al Gore gives around the world, hoping to change the lives of individuals by informing them about the issue of Global Warming. 

The Film was released in 2005 and has reached billions of people. 

Gore begins his PowerPoint presentation, which he began giving long before the film was made, by stating a common view on Global Warming; that because the earth is so big, we cannot have any lasting impacts.

He talks about a professor he had in college that changed his life. Roger Revelle, who was the first person to propose measuring carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Revelle sent weather balloons up in the middle of the Pacific in 1958. Because of the findings he showed his class, Gore became fascinated and concerned with Global Warming. In 1970 and throughout the 90's, he used his political career to bring forth the issues of our environment to the Senate, successfully passing a carbon tax and the Kyoto Protocol.

Gore shows his audience pictures of Glacier National Park and Argentina, showing the decrease in glacier size over a short time period. He explains that glacier drilling is a method that can measure the temperature inside of the glacier from hundreds of years back. He shows scientific data that shows an increase in 1000 yrs of temp is equal to 1000 yrs measured of co2. The data also showed that in 650,000 years the co2 level had never gone above 350 ppm (parts per million)... until now.
His graphs show that when there is more co2 there are higher temps.
Al Gore states that the increase in co2 into our atmosphere should "not be a political issue but a moral issue."

Gore tells the story of his son being hit by a car at age 6. He explains that after the month spent in the hospital, his entire perspective on life had changed. He voiced a new concern for the planet, stating "what we take for granted might not be here for our children." Since that moment, Gore decided to learn more about the earth.

Gore then explains that the ten hottest years in record (keep in mind the film was released in 2005) were 1090, 91, 95, 97, 98, 99, 01, 03, and 04. In 2003 Europe suffered such massive temperatures that the heat killed 35 thousand people. India reached temperature as high as 122 degree Fahrenheit.

An increase in temperature on land also meant an increase in temperatures in the ocean. He explains that global warming scientists predicted ocean temperatures that were actually very close to the actual recorded temperatures. The increase in ocean temperatures meant an increase in the number of hurricanes in 2004. There was also an all-time record of the number of tornadoes in 2004. In fact, history books had to be rewritten because previously they stated that it was not possible to have a hurricane in the South Atlantic. A statement that was proven false for the first time in 2004. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 hit Florida as a stage 1, but by the time it reached New Orleans it was catastrophic  He explains this is because between the two states it had to travel over warmer waters and that increased wind velocity. 

Global Warming paradoxically increases flooding and increases drought. This is because it not only increases precipitation but relocates precipitation  Also, soil evaporation increases dramatically with higher temperatures.

Gore talkes about climate pattern changes from the place where he grew up.

The Arctic experiences faster impacts of global warming. For example, there is a big problem with permafrost thawing. This causes trees to grow in tilted, damage in pipelines  sliding houses, trucks crashing from change in the roads, etc. 
The Arctic Icecap thickness had diminished 40% in the last 40 years.
Tony Blair, a scientific adviser  said that world maps will soon have to be redrawn because of the severe ice melting. 
Gore then shows his audience slides of what would happen to places like San Francisco, New York, and  Florida if the sea level covered the land. All it would take is for half of the Greenland ice and half of the ice in Antarctica to melt. Places like Calcutta and Beijing would wipe out millions of people.

Gore reminds us that after the tragedy of 9/11, Americans said never again would we allow such a travesty  But what about what happens after the ice melts? Should we prepare against other threats besides terrorists?

He reminds us that we need to separate the truth from the fiction. That we are witnessing a collision between our civilization and earth by:
1. Population. The rapid increase in population puts pressure on our food supply/demand, water supply/demand, and the use of our natural resources.
2.science/technological revolution. technology brings power but also great responsibility. He gives the formula that "old habits + new technology = dramatically altered consequences"
3. Our Way of Thinking. that if it "seems" gradual, we just sit there instead of responding or reacting. There needs to be a day of reckoning, that we need to connect the dots more quickly

Gore gives the most common misconceptions about Global Warming.
1. That there is a disagreement among scientists that Global Warming is real.
2. That we have to choose between our economy and our environment.
3. If we accept that this problem is real it may just be too big to do anything about. 

He ends his presentation by explaining that no one single big action needs to take place to make a difference, but many small changes. For example, saving electricity, using other end-use efficiency, passenger vehicle efficiency, renewables, and carbon efficiency.

Gore tells us that his mission in presenting these PowerPoint presentations is that city by city, person by person, family by family, he can educate. He is confident that soon enough minds will be changed to cross the necessary threshold. 

Ending with Over Consumption

For our last (yep, last!) blog assignment of the semester we were asked to choose what we believe is the most important environmental issue today. 
Consumption, referring to America being a consumerist society, is the most important environmental issue. I believe that our over consumption will be the biggest cause of future environmental issues. 
The dollar isle in Target, the 99 cent store, the Dollar Tree. They provide goods we need for nearly nothing... except that's not entirely true. Those cheap products we buy actually cost more than the dollar we pay for them. Market prices don't include the salary of workers to make said products, gas for trucks to transport, packaging, etc. Nor do they factor in disposal costs or the price we pay for pollution for disposal, or even pollution from the emissions from the trucks that brought them here, or the oil extraction for the gas for those trucks. As consumers, we don't even stop to think of the hidden costs to the cheap product that are constantly being advertised. Do we really need that tiny, plastic trinket that only costs us a dollar? 
Better yet, do we need that thing that is being offered to us for free? I know that on campus there is a banking company that gives out free stuff to students who sign up for an account. Is the little coin purse you get for free really necessary? How long will you actually use it before you toss it in the trash? Rarely do we think of anything other than the fact that its free so "why not?"
Americans are constantly being told we need more stuff. You have the iPhone 3 and it works perfectly fine, but you run out and buy the iPhone 5 because its the latest and greatest and billboards, commercials, store salesmen are telling you you need it. But do you? And what happens to the old phone? The same concept applies to just about anything we buy today. We consume more and more and more simply because its been drilled into our heads that we need the newest of something. Instead of fixing an old radio, we go out and buy a new one. 
But does anyone stop to think about what happens to our old stuff that we throw away? Or how much of our perfectly good stuff ends up in landfills? And how much of that stuff gets burned, or dumped, or even shipped to another country? Or how much it costs to make that stuff and to ship that stuff.
Water bottles are another example of a detrimental product we purchase because we are over consumers. Since I already went into detail about bottled v. tap water, I won't rewrite is all again. You can visit my post entitled "H20h?" here. 
A huge topic of environmental concern today is overpopulation. I believe that in this issue, again, over consumption reigns. Again, over consumption involves the extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of things. We as Americans only ever consider the consumption aspect. 
Over consumption also encompasses energy use and food waste. 
This requires educating people on energy conservation and using Energy Star products. 
Every year in America we throw away 96 billion pounds of food and one half of all food prepared in the U.S and Europe never gets eaten. (facts from www.divethefilm.com) 
The biggest tool of support in over consumption is a video entitled "The Story of Stuff" by Annie Leonard. What was supposed to be a small, informative video about our consumption and production of trash, turned out to be the most watched video of environmental concern. It's a 20 minute video and I guarantee it will change your entire perspective on consumption. You can watch the video and others like it, as well as learn more about "The Story of Stuff Project" at www.storyofstuff.org 
After learning about consumption I have changed my pattern of thinking when buying things. I find myself stoppping and ""Do I really need this?" I think that if more and more people used the stop and ask method before buying it would be a start in the right direction for reducing our unnecessary consumption. The only way to make a difference here is on an individual level.  However, I think its going to take a change in business as well as advertising before our consumption is significantly reduced. After all, if consumption becomes more practical, those manufactures and advertisers are losing money. And it always comes down to money, right?

The most interesting thing I have learned this semester is about recycling. Last week two groups in class conducted a debate on whether or not recycling is the answer (that wasn't the exact topic... but the phrasing escapes me at the moment.) Someone in the debate told us that if you put something in the recycle bin (the blue bin) that is not something that can be recycled, the entire bin is considered contaminated. Actually, all of the bins in the group are contaminated. So, even if I recycle in the blue bin correctly, but someone else on my block does not, all of my efforts go to waste and its all shipped to the landfill. Crazy, right? Even more crazy is the fact that there is a secret 4th R. Before Reduce, Reuse, Recycle should come Refuse! Refuse the need to purchase things you don't need (if you're connecting this with the over consumption I mentioned above... you're smart!) Just say no to unnecessary packaging, free stuff, junk mail, buying less stuff, and so on. Waste reduction is even better than recycling!  

Wasting Waste.

This weeks assignment is on waste management. I contemplated not doing this assignment based on the fact that I was pretty sure I'd feel embarrassed at the amount of trash I throw away on a daily basis. That sounds pretty bad, right? I mean how much trash is really "too much?"
I kept track of my trash for a two day period.  I accumulated a trash can full (your typical 13 gallon kitchen trash can) each day.
The majority of the space was taken up by diapers and baby wipes  I have a 7 month old who pees like a racehorse! We also have a cat, and in an effort to keep the house fresh and clean, I clean out the litter box every time she goes to the bathroom. The kitty waste is put into a plastic bag, so that means more plastic bags than necessary. I also prepare my own baby food (most of the time) so a lot of fruit stems and peels went into the trash during this assignment. Tons of paper towels, because I don't like using dish towels... perhaps I'm a little obsessive about germs on that note haha. In two days I used an entire roll of paper towels. Packaging from chicken breasts and frozen veggies (dinner, both nights). All leftovers from all meals went into the trash as well.
In my own defense, we do have a separate trash for recyclables  The bad part is I know that so many items  that can don't actually go into that trash can.

After keeping track of my trash, I searched for waste-reduction strategies. 

The most popular strategy is to recycle!
Reduce over-purchasing of food
Only cook what you know you will eat, otherwise use reusable containers for leftovers
Reuse old paper
Use reusable bags
Avoid individually packaged foods
Buy recycled paper products, or use cloth napkins
Use cloth diapers
Use cloths instead of wipes
Use a reusable water bottle instead of plastics
Make a compost
Don't use plastic baggies when purchasing produce

Now lets measure my waste for another two days. 
I'd like to say my waste was significantly reduced, but I still ended up taking out the trash night. The plus side was that the trash was not completely full like in the first two days, I took it out so the house wouldn't smell. I managed to reduce my  food waste by storing leftovers in reusable containers. I do have a diaper genie that holds dirty diapers, but I had been too cheap to buy the bags that go inside and it seemed pointless since I could just throw diapers into the trash. After the initial two days I did start using the diaper genie again, seeing many benefits in waste reduction. I even contemplated buying the cat genie, a similar device that is supposed to take the place of plastic bags when cleaning out a litter box, but I just couldn't see myself actually letting the cat poop sit in the house all night. I still used paper towels but was definitely more conscious of how many I used and significantly reduced the amount. I intentionally wasn't using reusable bags so that I would have plastic to throw away the cat litter in. I do own quite a bit of reusable bags though, so I made a point to use them as often as I get plastic bags. As I mentioned earlier we do have a separate trash can for things that can go into the big blue recycle containers. During the second two day period I was careful about which trash can I placed waste in and was happy to discover that I did a good job at using the recyclable one. 
The waste-reductions strategies I actually implemented were easy and quite frankly, logical, and I have no problem being more conscious and continuing to do them. 

I Pledge to not use Pledge.

This week we were asked to name and access chemicals found in common personal and household care products (ie. soaps, shampoos, window cleaner, bathroom cleaner). Chemicals can be found in the products themselves or from the containers they come in.

Off of the top of my head I think of Ammonia. Ammonia is found in things like All-purpose cleaners, Antibacterial cleaners and soaps, Window and glass cleaners, and furniture polish. So what is it? Google tells me that its A colorless gas, a combination of nitrogen and hydrogen, NH_{3. What are the effects of Ammonia?} Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia in air causes immediate burning of the nose, throat and respiratory tract. This can cause bronchiolar and alveolar edema, and airway destruction resulting in respiratory distress or failure. Inhalation of lower concentrations can cause coughing, and nose and throat irritation. Ammonia's odor provides adequate early warning of its presence, but ammonia also causes olfactory fatigue or adaptation, reducing awareness of one's prolonged exposure at low concentrations. Exposure to low concentrations of ammonia in air or solution may produce rapid skin or eye irritation. Higher concentrations of ammonia may cause severe injury and burns. Contact with concentrated ammonia solutions such as industrial cleaners may cause corrosive injury including skin burns, permanent eye damage or blindness. The full extent of eye injury may not be apparent for up to a week after the exposure. Contact with liquefied ammonia can also cause frostbite injury. Swallowing ammonia solution results in corrosive damage to the mouth, throat and stomach.

Another common chemical? VOCs. VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds that are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids, and range from things like Formaldehyde, methylene chloride, and Benzene. Exposure to VOCs include things such as eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some can cause cancer in animals; some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Key signs or symptoms associated with exposure to VOCs include conjunctival irritation, nose and throat discomfort, headache, allergic skin reaction, nausea, fatigue, and dizziness. Sounds scary right? Espically since VOCs can be found in things like air fresheners, chlorine bleach, detergent, dry cleaning chemicals, and furniture polish. 

Next we were asked to choose a product from our home that contains one of the listed ingredients. I've been hearing a lot about formaldehyde in shampoo, so I decided to research the can of Pledge that I so often use to polish my furniture. 

If you read the above sections talking about chemicals, you already know what I found out. Pledge is a big no-no, containing ammonia and VOCs. Ingredients include things like  Butane, Propane, Isobutane, Silicones. Do you really want to clean with gases? I don't. The thing I found most interesting is on the can of Pledge, it lists a few ingredients then says "Other Ingredients = 99.9750%" So when purchasing the product I as a consumer am not entitled to a complete list of ingredients? Turns out thats not required by law. It actually took a lot of digging on my part to find a complete list of ingredients. So is there any alternative to getting my furniture shiny and fresh? Pinterest actually had a ton of suggestions (If you don't know what Pinterest is... you're living under a rock, right?) like using one part lemon juice to three parts olive oil, because lemon naturally cuts through grease, and olive oil will condition and shine your wood furniture. I also found a list of "Green" furniture polishes (pictures below) at www.diylife.com 

The green alternatives are more expensive, but not overpriced. I actually think this is because Pledge is such a common product, it seems to always be on sale at Target. But making your own solution with lemon juice and olive oil is so much cheaper, since I always have those ingredients at home! 

h2oh?

This week our assignment was all about water. 

Where does my homes tap water come from? Well obviously my water comes from the faucet ;) Kidding! I actually had no idea exactly where Riversides water comes from. So I did what everybody does when they don't know the answer to something; I "Googled" it! I found out that all of Riversides water comes from groundwater resources pumped from local area wells in the Bunker Hill, San Bernardino, and Riverside Basins. The water starts out as local rain and snow that falls on our mountains and foothills, and flows down into our underground aquifers. I couldn't figure out exactly what well my water comes from, but I did find an interesting map that layes out the entire Riverside area and pinpoints where specific basins and wells are located. 

OK. So now the question is... is Riverside water safe to drink? The answer surprised me. Yes! Our Annual Water Report even claims that our water is among the safest and cleanest in the nation. (Seriously? Seriously.) Apparently, California's drinking water standards are among the highest in the U.S. Riverside conducts over 17, 000 lab tests each year and the results of those tests meet and surpass all clean water standards. (To find information on your city's water, search your city name + annual water report) 

Who's in charge of tap water standards? Ultimately, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but also included are other federal agencies, congressional mandates, state regulations, local municipalities, and private organizations. All of these set out to follow standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, the first law to mandate drinking water standards. At a minimum, public water systems must meet federal standards, but states can also impose additional regulations. The California Department of Public Health is in charge of California's drinking water, for example. Federal regulations set by the EPA set legal limits on levels of certain contaminants in our waters. A full list of drinking water regulations can be found here. 
For Questions about your water you can contact The EPA's Safe Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

Who's in charge of bottled water regulations? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees regulations pertaining to bottled water. Does it make sense that our bottled water does not have the same guidelines for "safe drinking" as our tap water? No. In fact, the FDA does not require companies to publish where their water comes from and if it actually has any contaminants. I remember when the biggest story on the news was that Aquafina bottled water was merely tap water and people acted like it was the end of the world. But shouldn't they be happy since tap water has stricter regulations than bottled? But wait, I thought all those pictures of white mountains and clean waterfalls on my water bottles meant that my water was crystal clean?! Because the regulations on these bottles are less strict than tap, there's really no way of knowing where the water came from. So why buy bottled? Because its convenient. Except a reusable bottle is just as convenient and does not horribly impact our environment like the plastic bottles do, which require more energy to make, ship, and "recycle" than most people think. The process of making and recycling those bottles also create toxins and occupy space in our landfills. A great video explaining the breakdown process of plastic bottles used for our bottles water, called The Story of Bottled Water, can be found here. 

Cereal, Beetle Juice, and a "Green" Company...?

This week we were asked to pick a food item that we enjoy and research whats in it and where it came from.

I chose Special K- Fruit & Yogurt blend.

yummm!

I am obsessed with cereal and always have been. I generally eat a bowl of cereal once a day, not always at breakfast either! I'm not a fan of kids cereals that are full of sugar on sugar on sugar. I love Raisin Bran, Chex, Honey Bunches of Oats... things along those lines. But when I came across Special K Fruit & Yogurt my cereal eating experience was forever changed (OK, maybe it's not that drastic, but I need you to understand how much I love this stuff!). I have no doubt that I could eat nothing but a box of it for an entire day.
When I picked my favorite cereal for this assignment, I admit I was hesitant. Do I REALLY want to know the nitty gritty about something I so often eat? I mean... it's supposed to be a healthy choice but should I risk finding out whether or not that's actually true?
Welp, here goes!

Ingredient list: Rice, whole grain wheat, sugar, whole grain rolled oats, wheat bran, contains 2% or less of vegetable oil (palm kernel, soybean and canola), dried apples, corn syrup, salt, brown sugar syrup, brown sugar (sugar, molasses), nonfat milk, soluble wheat fiber, malt flavoring, rice flour, natural and artificial flavor, polydextrose, tapioca dextrin, confectioner's glaze, whey, soy lecithin, nonfat yogurt powder (cultured nonfat milk; heat-treated after culturing), maltodextrin, honey, molasses, cinnamon, citric acid, lactic acid, red 40, blue 1, BHT for freshness, sodium sulfite to protect color.
Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), reduced iron, niacinamide, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), vitamin A palmitate, folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12.

If you're like me, before this assignment, you probably just skimmed through that list (rice, whole grain, blah blah blah vitamins and minerals blah blah). But in taking a closer look I actually made quite a few faces while reading. Why is there salt in my cereal?! And what the heck are these "natural and artificial flavors?" Plus I'm pretty sure I have no idea what the last few ingredients are let alone an answer as to why they're in my cereal.

Lets start with things on the list that caused me confusion.
1. Malt flavoring. I know that malt is a type of beer (right?) so whats it doing in the cereal? thanks to Google I was able to find out that it is an extract that comes from barley. It is added to things for flavor. It is not gluten free.
2. Polydextrose. It's an artificial fiber. I had no idea the fiber was not all-natural, since Kellogg's claims that Special K is a "healthy" choice. Everyone knows that natural is better than articifical. I found an article from www.slate.com that states the following: "Recent FDA approvals have given manufacturers a green light to add polydextrose to a much broader range of products than previously permitted, allowing food companies to entice health-conscious consumers who normally crinkle their noses at high-fiber products due to the coarse and bitter taste of the old-fashioned roughage. These fiber additives serve dual purposes—they can serve as bulking agents to make reduced-calorie products taste better, such as the case with Breyers fat-free ice cream, and carry an added appeal to consumers by showing up as dietary fiber on food labels." I don't know about you but that seriously just blew my mind. (you can read the full article here http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2009/03/dietary_fibber.html)

3. Tapioca Dextrin. More or less a thickening agent and surprisingly, is listed as a natural fiber.
4. Confectioners Glaze. "it's the same ingredient as shellac, the chemical sold in hardware stores that's used for sealing and varnishing wood floors." "Shellac is actually a chemical secreted by female lac bugs (Laccifer lacca)" SAY WHAT??? You're telling me I'm eating beetle juice??

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/033217_confectioners_glaze_shellac.html#ixzz2OdBKH8M6


5. BHT. researching BHT was a life changing experience, no joke. It's an additive used to preserve the fat in food. It literally means Butylated Hydroxytoluene and is listed as an antioxident but is a CHEMICAL that is also found in skincare products such as lotions and soaps, jet fuel, embalming products, and certain oils. It is also a known stabilizer in pesticides and gasoline. Yep, you read that right. BHT is known to cause abdominal pain, confusion, dizziness, and nausea (that makes total sense to me now that I know what it is). It is combustible, harmful to aquatic organisms, and can possibly cause liver damage, kidney failure, and thyroid issues. Additionally, BHT is secreted through urine. You know what that means? It's potentially infecting our water systems.
A great article on BHT (and a cool find as far as "green" websites go!) can be found here: http://2ndgreenrevolution.com/2012/02/07/bht-the-secret-in-your-cereal/

OK. In trying to find out more information about the cereal I immediately went to www.specialk.com. The entire website is dedicated to The Special K Plan (a diet plan involving the company's wide variety of products). While searching for some information other than ingredients I was led to the Kellogg's website (Kellogg's is the maker of Special K products). The information I gathered about the Kellogg's company was actually surprising. In 2011, Kellogg's was named number 36 of 100 Best Global Green Brands. Kellogg's is also dedicated to reducing landfill waste accumulated by the making of their products, reducing energy use as well as water use, and reducing their emission of greenhouse gases. You can look at their sustainability report in its entirety here. 

 

It was news to me that Kellogg's is not just available in the United States but in all of North America, Latin America, and Europe. But where exactly do these products come from? I know, obviously, that the ingredients for my Special K come from a farm, then go to a processing plant, then onto a truck that takes it to the store where I then purchase the cereal and take it home. Kellogg's actually states that their company is dedicated to working with "local" rice farmers in Louisiana. In 2012 they actually created a Rice Master Grower Program, which was established with the help of the Louisiana State university Ag center, to help assure product quality while boosting the economy for the local growers. Cool, right? I had trouble finding information about the source of supply in other countries though.

 

OK. So now I have a summary of ingredients and a general idea of place of origin. Do I agree with Kellogg's that their Special K cereal is "healthy?" Well... I wouldn't necessarily say that it's healthy... just healthier than other breakfast cereals. Did you know that Kellogg's also makes Cheez-Its, Keebler, and Famous Amos products? Seems funny to me that a company that markets themselves based on their achievements in providing a healthier product, also makes such unhealthy things, too. Based on the sole ingredient BHT I can say that I probably won't be eating this cereal any longer. Notice I said probably, haha. Knowing that BHT is in A LOT of things nowadays is frightening. Although I already knew everything has preservatives these days, especially my precious cereal, I didn't know exactly what those preservatives and chemicals were... it was nice when I could eat my cereal in complete ignorant bliss. ::sigh::

 

 

 

 

Lights, Camera, Sustainability...?

For this weeks assignment we were asked to assess how sustainable our campus is. For those who don't know what sustainability is, it basically means how "green" something is. We were asked to compile a list of areas that can be measured for sustainability. Here is the list I came up with:
1. Are paper towels still used in campus restrooms?
2. Is the air conditioning on campus powered by "Energy Star" units?
3. Does the cafeteria use plastic utensils or reusable utensils?
4. How much waste is accumulated on a daily basis? Where does this waste go?
5. Is recycling available on campus?
6. Are buildings built with "green" materials?
7. What types of resources are available online as opposed to paper?
8. Where does the cafeteria food come from?
9. Are their community gardens on campus?
10. What is done to preserve plant life?
11. How much water is used on campus?
11. Is smoking allowed in any area?
12. What is transportation for students like?
13. Pesticide use?
14. How well is the land used?
15. What kind of lighting is used throughout campus?

Next we were asked to look up what other campuses have done in regards to sustainability assessments. In other words, how they figured out their ecological impact, not solutions to the problems they found. A great example I found is from the University of Oregon (really, is their any surprise there?) In regards to the Universitys Materials Management they assessed the extent to which the campus incorporates sustainability into the procurement and disposal of packaging, office supplies, furniture, computer equipment, and chemicals for custodial, landscaping, research, and teaching use. They also assessed their materials management through trends in solid waste and recycling, as well as efforts to reduce waste and properly dispose of waste and hazardous materials. They figured out that solid waste is a big problem in the campus society and the effect landfills have on the environment. They then looked at the dollar amount spent on goods and services (over $132 million dollars during the 05-06 fiscal year) and the amount of waste sent to landfills each year.

The entire University of Oregon assessment is available at http://uplan.uoregon.edu/subjects/Sustainability/SustDDprojects/UOSustainabilityReport.pdf
I recommend skipping down a few pages to the "Indicators" section if you're interested in the actual assessment process.

Next in the assignment we were asked to pick one of the factors we listed (above) and devise a detailed assessment. I choose to look at lighting throughout the campus. What kind of lighting is used? What is the cost each month spent on replacing lighting? Are lights motion censored? What time do lights turn on at night and how many lights on campus turn on during that time? How many watts are in each bulb used? How many bulbs are needed to light up a room? Are all bulbs turned on or is it every other bulb? Who is in charge of making sure the lights on campus are energy efficient, if applicable? If not applicable, why isn't lighting a concern? Is solar lighting available anywhere on campus? What kind of lighting is used to power classroom projectors? How much money is spent on projector lighting? How much is spent each year to light up the football field? Do high schools that use our football field for graduations pay a fee? How much is that fee and is the lighting cost factored in? When do parking lot lights turn on and when do they turn off? Are all areas of the parking lots lit up?
In order to conduct such an assessment, I think my first step would be to contact the President of the school,  Dr. Cynthia Azari and explain my assignment and ask her for permission as well as resources. I would need to examine light bulbs in every room (classrooms, bathrooms, the gym, office buildings, parking lots) and find out what kind of lights are used. I would need information on how lighting is controlled, how the football field is rented out, and so on. I would ask for help from the administration as well as student services. I would need to do research on the different types of lighting available and which is the most energy efficient and compare it to the lighting currently used.